The Princess Blog

All the Queen's Horses and All the Queen's Men  is the thrilling conclusion to Abigail Manning's Once Upon a Rhyme series  of nursing rhymes rewritten as original fairy tales set in a fantasy world powered by magic jewels . I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of this final installment. Though the author recommends reading the rest of the books in the series first, I had more than enough context from the first book and the most recent book  to enjoy this one without feeling like I was missing anything important. The story is loosely inspired by "Humpty Dumpty"  and uses a shattered soul stone as a metaphor for the famous broken egg. Amirah has been known as the "blood princess" because of a horrible tragedy that occurred in her childhood, causing the death of most of her family due to their obsession with soul stones, magic gems that they believed would allow them to control their emotions. Her shattered soul stone, which she wears as a set of jewel...

In a surprising announcement from Deadline yesterday , we learned that Disney+ is planning to turn Ella Enchanted  into a streaming series. Before you get excited about seeing a new adaptation of the beloved Gail Carson Levine novel that many of us grew up with , keep in mind that the press release specifically states "a TV series based on the 2004 Miramax film." This is troublesome considering that the movie has many flaws that prevent it from topping a list of live-action "Cinderella" adaptations , as well as the fact that the streaming services are currently oversaturated with new adaptations of the classic fairy tale . Since the project is still in its early stages, there is also a possibility that it won't even, considering Disney's track record of announcing new princess projects that never see the light of day. Whenever a movie gets adapted into a series, the biggest issue is whether there's enough additional content to stretch into an episodic...

I was initially drawn to Flameheart  by Dalton and Emily Bequette  by the beautiful concept art they shared on their social media pages , as well as the obvious plot similarities to Between the Lines , my favorite musical (that I recently did a piano cover of ), which is also based on a novel . Flameheart  is currently a steal at 99 cents on Amazon , and ARCs are out for the sequel, Ashfall , which I received and will be reviewing in the coming weeks. Like Hope and Love's Legacy , the Flameheart Chronicles is a series of portal fantasy books that take place between the real world and a fantasy kingdom called Norenth. Flameheart  is about a girl named Aurelia, or Lia for short, who is obsessed with a fictional prince named Kayce, who served as her imaginary friend since childhood. Her grandfather published a series of books about Kayce and his fantasy world of Norenth with moderate success. After her father left her, Aurelia became emotionally dependent on Kayce,...

Time Princess  has so many visual novels out now that they've been focusing more on sequels to the ones they already released than on new ones. While there's nothing wrong with a good sequel, they already concluded most of the stories that ended on cliffhangers . I was surprised to see that their latest continuation was for Princess Sissi , a historical visual novel they released five years ago that I don't particularly remember feeling unfinished. Still, Sissi is a popular character who has had many animated adaptations , so it seemed like a "safe" choice for the developers to continue if they didn't have the resources for an entirely new story. The story picks up shortly after Sissi's engagement to Franz, the emperor of Austria, when he unexpectedly chose her after a proposed alliance between him and Sissi's sister, Helene. Their happy lives are immediately disrupted by an assassination attempt on Franz. The majority of the visual novel revolves arou...

To coincide with the recent Winx Club reboot, Winx Club: The Magic Is Back ,  a multi-platform video game developed by  Iron Frog , was launched  under the same title . The studio used a grassroots marketing campaign for this game by reaching out to influencers to help promote it, including me, but did not respond to my request for a review copy, so this is my honest review. They also released the game at a discounted rate, which is usually not a good sign. It seemed they needed all the help they could get because Winx Club: The Magic Is Back feels more like a '90s PC game than a modern-day console release. The controls are simple, the world is limited, and the plot is practically non-existent. For me, the primary appeal of playing a video game inspired by the Winx Club franchise is the ability to transform into a fairy and use the girls' unique powers in battle or to perform various tasks. Did it satisfy this expectation? Technically, yes, but only at the bare mini...

I eagerly received an ARC of Dancing with Gold  by Sara Farnsworth , the latest book in the Realms of Caelia series . Each book in the series combines two different fairy tales to create a new original story, a concept that has inspired me in some of my own writing . This book, which combines "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" with "Rumpelstiltskin,"  is different from the other Realms of Caelia books in that it does not have the protagonists take on the roles of both stories. Instead, the book is split between the story of Princess Jadia, who lives out the popular curse version of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses,"  and her mother, Queen Amythest, who lived out the story of the miller's daughter in "Rumpelstiltskin" before Jadia was born. I personally preferred it when the characters in this series took on multiple fairy tale roles to add more depth to their stories, but that makes this book a unique entry. The premise of this book is one that m...

*Note: It's been an insanely long time since I've done a  Story Saturday , so long that some of my newer readers might not even know what it is. My short stories don't get as much attention as my reviews and news posts, so I've been focusing more on my books  when it comes to creative storytelling. Since I recently released a new book , I've been devoting these last few weeks to expanding upon the realm of Imperium with a sequel to Hope and Love's Legacy . For a while, I considered the possibility of a prequel about how Amoura's parents met. However, I don't think it would be long enough for a full novel. Instead, I decided it'd be a fun bonus to share it with my readers here on The Princess Blog. I hope you enjoy this short prequel, along with the rest of the books in The Legacy Chronicles. "The Sorceress and the Farmer's Legacy" William grabbed his sickle and joined the small workforce of tenant farmers on Lord Thomas's expansive ...

With Sofia the First: Royal Magic coming to Disney Jr. and Disney+ later this month, Disney will be sharing more glimpses into the upcoming sequel series  to give fans an idea of what to expect. Today, they premiered two original shorts entitled Sofia the First: Magical Friends  on their YouTube channel  to give us a taste of the upcoming show, which premieres on May 25th. The shorts introduce new characters and provide a closer look at the updated animation style and designs. Check them out below to meet Sofia's new animal friends, and one of her new human friends, Princess Layla. In the first short, Sofia and Pepper the puppercorn introduce us to the Palace Pets at Charmswell School for Royal Magic. The animation in this short is a little jerky in comparison to the smooth and elegant movements of the original show. Pepper comes off as even more rambunctious than the already energetic Clover from the original series, who is nowhere to be seen in these clips. Sofia revea...

The Tethered Hearts series  recently had a promotion to celebrate its one-year anniversary, and I could not wait to dive back into it. I was particularly excited to read Ties of Dust  because I am a huge fan of Deborah Grace White's books . Somehow, this story exceeded my already high expectations. I fell in love with the characters from the very first page, and the plot and pacing kept me eager to keep reading up to the very last page. I don't know how she did it, but somehow Deborah Grace White has managed to blend romance, magic, and suspense into the perfect book. This story also serves as the introduction to her latest trilogy, Magic of Dust and Movement . Every book in the Tethered Heart series features a couple whose relationship starts with a magical bond that ties them together, and this one is no exception. It starts with a marriage alliance between Princess Miriam and Prince Cassius. When Miriam's bodyguard prevents an assassination attempt in front of her futu...

If you saw my announcement on National Fairy Tale Day , you know that I've been waiting a long time to get my story, Hope and Love's Legacy ,  out into the world. In fact, it's been over 20 years since I conceptualized this book as an animated series when I was 16. Today is the day that my lifelong legacy can finally be part of your world (Yes, that is a Little Mermaid  reference, and yes, there are mermaids in this book). From a spark of imagination to a two-season series bible to pilot spec scripts to a full-length novel, this story has evolved so much since I first dreamed of starting an animation studio to produce it as a naive teenager. I truly believe that its current format is the strongest it's ever been, and I am so pleased to share it with you today. I came up with the idea of Hope and Love's Legacy in the midst of various fandom obsessions, including Disney Princesses , Final Fantasy VIII , and Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders . My passion for thes...

Slippers and Thorns  is the first book in the Roumaterra Chronicles, a series of combined fairy tale retellings by Erin Halbmaier . This book is different from other combined retellings because it takes place during the aftermath of both stories. It is a loose retelling and sequel to "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty"  with similar themes to Just Ella  and Glass and Feathers . According to the author's notes, this book was intended to be a short story and was expanded into a 90,000-word novel. Regrettably, the combination of slow pacing and frustrating character decision detract from the extended length of the book. This book begins after the events of "Cinderella." Princess Ella's marriage to Prince Mike is on the rocks. Similar to the Disney sequel , Ella has a difficult time adjusting to palace life due to having more experience as a maid than as a princess. Meanwhile, Mike is overwhelmed by his princely duties and doesn't have time for his...

Legacy of Roses  by Melanie Cellier  is the first in her newest series of fairy tales called Kingdoms of Legacy , which takes place in a world where people are forced to live out the fairy tales of the past. After completing her extensive Four Kingdoms books , which ran for many years and expanded through many series, it would not have been possible to keep doing fairy tale retellings without trying something new. This is her second "Beauty and the Beast" retelling, and I have to admit that I preferred the first one, which was a more literal adaptation of the fairy tale. Following up  A Tale of Beauty and the Beast   with  Legacy of Roses  reminds me of Robin McKinley's Rose Daughter , her attempt to retell "Beauty and the Beast" in a new way that failed to gain the same appeal as her first adaptation, Beauty . Legacy of Roses  begins when a stranger named Dimitri moves to a small village to take residence in his family's manor, which happens to be a ...

A new season has begun, which means there are tons of new anime shows available from Japan. Going over the long lists of new shows every three months can be overwhelming, so I'm here to curate the most princessy shows each season for you. This Spring brings us two unique princess shows and two villainess shows ,  which is a popular princess-adjacent genre with new offerings for every anime season. For me, the standout series of the Spring 2026 anime season is Always a Catch , which places a unique spin on the broken engagement trope . What makes Always a Catch unique is that it subverts the trope of modern princess anime shows that start with a wicked prince breaking off his engagement to a noble lady, resulting in her winning over a different prince. In this show, Prince Renato attempts to break off his engagement with Lady Aida, but he hasn't seen her in years and confuses her with her outspoken cousin, Mimi. As an apology for the mistake (and because he finds Mimi charming),...

I signed up for an ARC of The Secret World of Briar Rose  by Cindy Pham on NetGalley because it looked like an interesting take on "Sleeping Beauty."  The book was more or less what I expected. It was a unique and creative take on the fairy tale, but like most modern books from traditional publishers, it lacked the heart that makes that tale such a beloved classic. I saw it described in some spaces as a  queer  story, which is debatable. While there were descriptions of queer feelings in certain characters, there is little to no actual romance, giving the book an overall feeling of loneliness and melancholy. Going in, it's important to know that this book is primarly an allegory for depression, and the fairy tale aspects are secondary. The "Sleeping Beauty" elements, while present, are not the primary focus of the book. The story alternates between two different timelines. The "future" timeline focuses on the dystopian kingdom that resulted from the ...